Bonds That Push
by NegaiFreak
Summary: The climax of the Kalos League has arrived! Who will win? Ash or Alain? (WRITTEN DUE TO UNACCEPTABILITY OF OUTCOME AND FAN REACTIONS) FEATURING ASH X MIRAJANE! RATED K ! PLEASE READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY!


**Hey everybody! I'm sure you all recently saw the latest XYZ episode and are likely all disappointed like I am with the results. That said, I'd like to ease the pain for all of you by providing a little story that reverses the outcome and makes Ash the deserving Kalos Champion. Let's face it. If Ash won, would things change all that much?**

 **Would Lumiose City still be in a state of crisis? Yes. Would there still be a battle against Team Flare? Yes. Would Ash and Alain team up only to discover that they're actually enemies? Of course!**

 **I'll be blunt. This is mockery of hype, the fandom, and the series in general. We don't need to always make Ash lose because if he does, the series is over. There's still plenty more for him to do. We know he's always up for adventure, so if Kalos can't hold a Champion's League due to the crisis they got into, why not go to Alola?**

 **Sorry, I'm spamming off topic at this point. As for when this story takes place, it's at the moment of the impact from the Water Shuriken and Blast Burn at the end of the battle. This is meant to be a little one-shot with some Ash X Mirajane sprinkled in. Enjoy!**

 **BONDS THAT PUSH**

Everyone in the Lumiose Stadium had widened eyes and gaping mouths at the sight of the huge explosion on the battlefield. Before the humungous cloud of smoke had appeared, both Ash Kethcum's Greninja and Alain Regulus' Charizard had unleashed their most powerful attacks: a giant orange Water Shuriken and a Blast Burn respectively. As the moves had ended up passing each other and striking their targets, a huge cloud of white and black smoke veiled the stage from anyone's view. Mirajane Strauss stood up from her seat with Erza Scarlet, Gingka Hagane, Sunset Shimmer, and Rainbow Dash, as they were all worried about the result that they would eventually see. The smoke finally cleared to reveal both the Mega Evolved Flame Pokémon and the transformed Ninja Pokémon still standing on their respective sides of the field. The former of the two suddenly staggered onto his left knee, grimacing in agony. However, his opponent, who had remained stoic for so long, felt himself start to fall over without warning to his left. His trainer was doing the same as well, having his eyelids droop down slowly.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu screamed to him upon noticing, hoping he would hear his voice in time.

' _It's… over…_ ' he uttered to himself, feeling faint as he could see his teammate about pass out as well, ' _Can we really… not win?_ ' he asked inwardly, glancing down at the floor he was going to hit.

"Ash!" his crush shouted from the stands.

"Don't give up!" Serena exclaimed as her eyes became filled with tears. Everyone there, including Bonnie, Clemont, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Sawyer, Tierno, Trevor, and Shauna all voiced their pleading cries out to the raven haired boy, who was about to succumb to unconsciousness. However, in the last moment before his body could take a free fall, he took notice of the guild mark upon the right pectoral of his jacket, suddenly widening his eyes back open as he lifted his left foot, planting it down in a position to keep him from falling. He instantly looked back out at the field with clenched teeth and eyes that glared daggers, much to the shock of Alain.

"GRENINJA!" he bellowed, immediately causing the Water/Dark type's eyes to jerk open as he put his left foot down, keeping himself from going down in the same manner as his master was about to, causing his foe to widen his eyes in disbelief.

"RRRRAAAAHHH!" they roared together up into the air, synchronizing the sounds in their voices.

"Go Ash!" the little blonde haired girl cheered loudly from the stands, "Go Greninja!" she added excitedly.

"Day, dennay!" Dedenne squeaked in agreement.

"There's that willpower again," Erza noted, folding her arms over her chest, "The ability to never give up, even if you're on your last leg…" she mentioned as the ones beside her smiled in agreement.

" _Oh my!_ " the announcer exclaimed through the loudspeaker as the crowd broke into a frenzy of cheers, " _Greninja was about to fall, but suddenly stood back up from hearing his trainer!_ " he pointed out as the Mega Evolution user's eyes trembled at the sight.

"There's… no way…" he uttered, completely stunned by the development. His opponent then slammed his right fist against his pectoral, right over the guild mark.

"Greninja, the marks on our chests prove that we're not fighting alone!" he stated to his teammate as he performed the same action, "The Omni Force… Fairy Tail…" he continued with a determined expression in his eyes, "They're all with us! All cheering us on!" he declared proudly as his friends in the stands, his former companions watching the battle from the television from across the world, and those listening to the battle on the radio all grinned.

' _This is it,_ ' Gingka said through thought, clenching his fists, ' _This is where it all comes together…_ ' he inwardly realized.

"Use Cut!" the raven haired boy ordered, slamming his fist against the palm of his left hand like a certain ice wizard, much to the requip mage's surprise as she widened her eyes.

"Gray..." she uttered, recognizing the movements as the morphed Ninja Pokémon did the same, pulling out a single kunai-shaped blade of blue from them, which gleamed in the sunlight before he rushed towards his enemy.

"Dragon Claw!" Alain commanded. His partner immediately responded by forming a green, claw-like aura around both of his hands, about to lunge out and attack his opponent with them. Suddenly though, the frog-like creature appeared in front him, making the blade of his makeshift weapon lengthen before swinging it out, striking him before he could even counter, much to the shock of his trainer. The Water/Dark type continued slicing with the armament, pushing him back so that he couldn't even block his attacks.

" _My goodness!_ " the announcer yelped into the microphone, " _It seems as if Greninja still has plenty of energy left in the tank!_ " he noted excitedly as the one he was speaking of swung his blade down onto his foe, slicing through the aura over his hands and making it shatter like glass while also pushing him back across the dirt, making him grimace in agony.

"Charizard..." the Mega Evolution user said with a shocked expression on his face. He then looked towards his opponent, seeing the determined glare in his eyes, piercing into his own.

' _Is he... really THIS strong?!_ ' he asked himself, starting to panic a little as he was sweating.

"Use Thunder Punch!" he cried out quickly. Re-readying himself, the Mega Evolved Flame Pokémon lunged out, immersing both of his fists in orbs of yellow electricity.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash commanded loudly, getting into a stance with clenched fists, as his teammate did the same, having his glow a light blue. He instantly jumped out, reeling his right arm back before punching his adversary in the face, sending him careening back across the dirt as he groaned in agony.

"Natsu..." the Satan Soul user uttered from the stands, having recalled seeing the same movements from a certain dragon slayer. The two creatures stared each other down with scrapes all across their bodies, looking as if they were ready to settle their duel.

"GRENINJA, WATER SHURIKEN!" the raven haired boy commanded, reaching behind his back after turning his cap around. The transformed Ninja Pokémon took hold of the watery weapon on his back with his right hand, pulling it off before dashing forward at Charizard.

"Quick, Thunder Punch!" Alain ordered, throwing out his right fist. Suddenly though, he noticed that the Mega Evolved Flame Pokémon wasn't moving as he was still in great pain, grimacing in realization as his eyes widened. The frog-like creature then leapt up, reeling his arm back, about to throw the armament made of liquid. His trainer took the same stance, gritting his teeth.

' _Everyone's been watching us from the very beginning…_ ' he noted to himself, seeing the look of disbelief in his foe's eyes, ' _That's why we can't let them down!_ ' he declared through thought.

"GO!" he exclaimed as loudly as he could.

"Neeeen… JAAAAAHHHH!" Greninja screeched, throwing the shuriken rapidly down at his enemy. All he could do to try and save himself was to cross his arms over his head, but it struck him in a steam-filled explosion, making him let out a pained roar.

"Charizard!" his trainer screamed in fright, flinching from the wind that followed. The Water/Dark type landed back on the ground seconds later, as both he and his trainer keeled over onto their left knees, cringing out of agony as they were barely managing to hold on. Once the veil cleared, it revealed the Fire/Dragon type still standing, shaking his head. Everyone in the stands could only watch on with gaping mouths of shock, unable to comprehend the situation. Without warning though, a loud thud was heard, catching their attentions as their eyes widened. The dragon-like creature had dropped down to his knees and then proceeded to fall face first onto the ground, much to the astonishment of his owner. In a flash of light, he transformed back to normal, letting out one more agonized groan before succumbing to unconsciousness. The referee immediately ran over to observe what had conspired, immediately raising his right hand after making a judgement.

"Charizard is unable to battle!" he stated, gesturing towards the fatigued Ninja Pokémon, who was breathing heavily, "Greninja wins!" he said loudly so the audience could hear, "Therefore, the victor and champion of the Kalos League is Ash!" he declared, while the trainer himself was too focused his heavy breathing as he was exhausted from the bout.

" _It's decided!_ " the announcer's voice boomed through the microphone as the Flame Pokémon's picture on the screen was greyed out, " _After many hard fought battles, the winner of the Kalos League's Lumiose Conference is none other than Ash Ketchum!_ " he told the excited crowd, who broke out into cheers upon seeing everything clear away to reveal the 'WINNER' sign underneath the Omni Force member's picture.

"He won! He won!" Bonnie repeated in glee, jumping up and down from her seat.

"Yeehaw!" Applejack exclaimed with a pump of her right fist, while Rarity clapped rapidly in excitement.

"Yipee!" Pinkie squealed, suddenly embracing Clemont tightly, much to his surprise as his face became a bright red, "I'm so happy I could just kiss someone!" she proclaimed, proceeding to peck the Lumiose gym on the head several times with her lips, much to his embarrassment. Rainbow and Sunset high fived one another with wide smiles, and Gingka and Erza embraced in a quick hug out of joy.

"He did it…" Serena uttered as tears streaked down her pink tinted cheeks amidst the cheers, "He really won it all…" she noted, rubbing her eyes.

"He's certainly something else," Fluttershy noted, smiling brightly. Mirajane also had the same expression on her face, but was more or less relieved as she placed her hand over her heart and breathed in and out slowly.

' _I wish everyone could've seen this…_ ' she told herself, blushing a little, ' _He was absolutely amazing…_ ' she added, wiping her right eye free of a tear of joy. Back on the field, her beloved hadn't realized what conspired as he was completely worn out.

"What… happened?" he asked, looking around to see the crowd in a frenzy of cheers and applause. He then glanced up at the big screen, noticing his image above the 'WINNER' sign as his eyes widened. "Did we… win?" he questioned, somewhat surprised while twisting his cap back around.

"Pika, pika!" a familiar voice squeaked, catching his attention as he suddenly saw Pikachu jump onto his left shoulder, nuzzling him excitedly.

"Pikachu…" he said, still a bit dazed as he noticed a watery flash of light, being Greninja as he had transformed back to normal, turning around to face his master, who blinked in surprise.

"Ja," he croaked, placing his left fist over his black guild mark, smiling underneath his scarf-like tongue. A moment of silence passed before Ash had a wide smile come across his lips, laughing as he ran over to the Water/Dark type.

"Greninja!" he exclaimed, embracing him tightly in a caring hug, disregarding the fatigue and pain they both had suffered earlier, "Thank you so much, Greninja…" he said to him in gratitude, "You… and everyone else worked so hard with me," he added as they let each other go.

"Gre," the frog-like creature agreed, folding his arms over his chest while nodding.

"Rooaaggh…" Charizard groaned weakly as he awoke from his unconscious state, managing to stand back up and shake his head, while his trainer walked over to his side, "Rah…" he uttered apologetically, appearing downcast as he caught his attention.

"It's fine, Charizard," he reassured, much to his surprise as he could feel his owner rubbing his head in a comforting manner, "Aren't you glad that we got to have such an intense battle with them?" he questioned with a smile, making him blink out of shock.

"Rrooaah!" he agreed with a nod, causing him to chuckle. Meanwhile, up in the VIP booth, Mairin stared down at him with trembling eyes.

"He lost…" she noted as her hands were pressed against the glass, "but… he's still smiling…" she mentioned, grinning herself while not noticing a few tears building up in her eyes. Lysandre stood up from his seat as well, smirking upon witnessing the result.

"Ash," Alain said, catching his former opponent's attention as he looked to see him approach, "thank you," he told him out of gratitude, stopping before them, "I honestly never thought I would ever have a battle that would make my blood boil so much…" he admitted.

"Same here," the Pokémon trainer agreed with a nod, "We've been battling in league after league for so long…" he pointed out, surprising the black haired teen slightly, "I guess we just couldn't let this one go, since we came so far," he confessed, making his comrades nod in agreement.

"Heh," his rival chuckled, "I hope you'll give me the chance to battle you again someday," he stated, reaching his right hand out to him.

"Of course!" he replied, taking his extremity and shaking it by using his own. Their Pokémon also shook hands, smiling at each other. The crowd broke out into another round of applause and cheers in the meantime, glad that they had witnessed a powerful result.

 **X**

"That was amazing!" Sawyer exclaimed as he and the others were gathered in the locker room, surrounding the raven haired boy as he was wiping his sweaty forehead down with a towel, "The way you and Greninja stood back up after it looked like it was over…" he noted, clenching his fists, "You two were totally in sync!" he said to him with a bright smile.

"Thanks, Sawyer," he responded, putting the cloth down onto the bench.

"How were y'all able to handle that there Blast Burn at the end?" Applejack asked with an arched eyebrow, catching his attention as he looked over at her.

"I… really don't know…" he answered while rubbing the back of his head in a sheepish manner, "Everything happened so fast, I don't know what I was even thinking at the end there…" he confessed.

"You really… had us worried…" Serena chimed in, still sniffling from earlier as tears streaked down her cheeks.

"Sorry 'bout that, Serena," Ash apologized with a nervous grin.

"Still, that Charizard sure is strong," Clemont pointed out with Pinkie and Trevor standing beside him, "It almost seemed like he was going to win for a moment there…" he added as his eyes were narrowed.

"But he didn't!" his little sister squeaked, smiling brightly.

"That's right," Sunset concurred as she walked up to her victorious teammates, "Ash, thanks for keeping that promise of yours," she said to him gratefully.

"Yeah, thanks for getting payback on that guy for us!" Rainbow added, enticing her schoolmate to glance at her skeptically, "I mean… for Sunset…" she corrected, rubbing the back of her head nervously as the others laughed.

"You know…" the Pokémon trainer began as Pikachu jumped up onto his left shoulder, "if it wasn't for me seeing the mark on my jacket, we would've lost," he confessed, much to the surprise of his friends as they looked at him, "Just like Sunset, I made so many promises to people that I would win," he recalled while looking at his right hand, closing it into a fist, "It felt like all those promises just flew into my mind the moment we were about to lose…" he finished as he grinned.

"It's as if they're always watching out for you, right?" Erza inquired, catching his attention as he perked up to see her, "That resolve drives you to be who you are, Ash," she noted to him, placing her left hand onto his open shoulder, "To speak for everyone, we're glad that you persevered," she told him as he smiled.

"Yeah, congrats," Gingka chimed in, holding out his right fist to his Omni Force teammate, "Welcome to the club," he added with a chuckle, causing him to do the same before sharing a fist bump with the beyblader.

"Ash?" a familiar feminine voice said, catching his attention as he looked to see Mirajane standing before him.

"Mira…" he uttered while standing up, "thank you so much," he stated out of gratitude, making her blink in surprise, "If it wasn't for you and everyone else," he continued, "we wouldn't have won this league," he finished with a gleeful smile.

"We've been with you since the beginning, Ash," she responded while giggling a little, "No matter what happens, we'll always be looking out for you," she promised, causing him to blush out of flattery. He then noticed everyone else nodding in agreement as he was a little overwhelmed by the rush of emotions he was experiencing for the first time. Even Pikachu struggled to contain himself while taking breaths of air.

"The closing ceremonies are probably starting soon," Tierno noted, about to head out with Trevor and Shauna, "We'll see you guys there!" he called out, leaving the room. The Canterlot High students followed soon after they departed, along with Clemont and Bonnie. Serena took a moment a share a quick stare and smile with her crush, as her eyes were completely free of tears while smiling. She left with the requip mage and the shaggy haired teen, while the take over wizard stayed with her beloved.

"Ash," she began, going up to him and placing her hand onto his shoulder, making him blush as she was a bit close to him, "I want you to know we're all really proud of you," she told him with a caring smile as her own cheeks showed a tint of pink, "I'm… proud of you," she confessed, causing him to have his eyes tremble in disbelief. She then cupped his cheek with her hand and leaned her head in, closing her eyes before kissing him gently on the lips, much to his shock as his whole face went red, while Pikachu just snickered in amusement. It only lasted for about ten seconds, but it felt as if it would never end for him until he felt her mouth leave his. "Now go ahead and get your trophy," she advised sweetly as he was still stunned.

"I… think I just did…" he suddenly remarked, causing her and his partner to perk up in surprise before the barmaid giggled with rosy cheeks.

"That's quite the bold statement coming from you, Ash," she pointed out, causing him to widen his eyes in realization at what he just said.

"N-N-No!" he stammered, waving his arms around comically, "I-I mean… that kiss was… g-great…" he tried to say, but couldn't while tipping his cap over his eyes, "I'll… see you after the ceremony…" he promised while being too embarrassed to say anything else, exiting the room as she just smiled at him.

"Pika pi…" the Mouse Pokémon muttered to his trainer out of annoyance, wondering why he couldn't seem to handle such a situation. However, he didn't receive an immediate response, looking to see him with his cap still tipped down over his eyes as a stoic and downcast expression was upon his face. He was remembering all the past leagues he had participated in, recalling every single loss that knocked him out. His fists were tightly clenched as he reminisced over being beaten by Ritchie, Harrison, Tyson, Tobias, and Cameron in the five tournaments where he competed. Just as he was about to step out back into the stadium, he took a moment to stop and take a deep breath of air, letting a small grin come across his lips

"Pikachu…" he uttered, catching the Electric type's attention as he saw him reach down to his belt, pulling out his five other Poké Balls and opening them, releasing the streaks of light that came into form to reveal the rest of his team: Greninja, Talonflame, Hawlucha, Goodra, and Noivern. "Everyone…" he kept going, rubbing his nose with his right index finger as he let out a little chuckle, "we're champions now," he stated, closing his right hand into a fist, "I wanna thank you guys for sticking with me till the very end!" he said in gratitude, causing them to all voice sounds of agreement, including his longtime partner as he jumped off of his shoulder to gather with them, "Now let's go celebrate!" he suggested, walking alongside them out onto the field. There was a pedestal in the center of it where the Kalos Champion Master, Diantha was waiting, holding a gold trophy in her hands. Alain and Professor Sycamore were there as well, talking with each other for a moment until they took notice of the figures entering the stadium. Upon seeing the victor and his team, the crowd broke into cheers once again, clapping happily. He smiled brightly, looking at his right hand before raising it up, sticking his thumb out to the side while having his index finger up.

' _Everyone… thank you…_ ' he uttered inwardly, knowing that they had all seen his greatest accomplishment.

 **END**

 **And Ash is a champion. Honestly, he always will be to me. Him winning the Kalos League would not change much given the state of affairs at the moment. Of course, it seems like the writers are always afraid to give him a victory. I mean, come on, at least Diamond and Pearl and Black and White gave Ash losses to trainers who strived to win the League. Here, Alain didn't.**

 **Again, sorry for rambling, but that's honestly how I feel. And Ash ends up with a kiss from Mirajane to boot! Talk about lucky!**

 **For those of you who are angry, please try to refrain yourselves from attacking the writers. Yes, they did terrible with this and should deserve some form of backlash. However, let the country where these episodes originate from have their words with the writers.**

 **See you guys later!**

 **QUOTE**

 _ **Ash, no matters what happens, everyone's proud of how far you've come.**_

 **~Mirajane Strauss**

 **To Ash in Fierce Fighting at the Kalos League! Gather, All of My Passion!**


End file.
